Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $18.00 to $21.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Highwoods Properties traded as high as $26.27 and last traded at $26.09, with a volume of 32796 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.93.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on HIW. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Highwoods Properties from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HIW. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 76.6% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 0.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.69%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 143.89%.

Highwoods Properties Company Profile

Highwoods Properties, Inc, headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded (NYSE:HIW), fully-integrated office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa.